Temporary Victory for Laibar Singh

BHAI LAIBAR SINGH JI IS NOT ON AN AIRPLANE HEADING TO INDIA!!! He is in a gurdwara in Vancouver. More than 1000 supporters showed up today and would not allow him to be taken from the car to the airplane. Shouts of Je Bole So Nihal! Sat Sri Akal! reverberated through the electrified air as the Army of Guru Gobind Singh Ji refused to allow our brother to be hijacked by Canada's Tory government. Now we have him. He will never be turned over to the Canadian government under any conditions now! I'll post an updated report after the six o'clock news, that will be in about three or three and one-half hours. PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE WON THIS BATTLE, BUT THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER. CANADA MAY - PROBABLY WILL - STILL TRY TO DEPORT THIS BROTHER. OUR JOB IS TO STOP THEM WHATEVER THAT TAKES!!(For those who might not know, here is a good discussion of the meaning of Jaikara, our 'War Cry. I am going to reprint part of this on sometimes - 2, since most of my readers there are not Sikh.)Here is a link to the news report from Vancouver CBC News at noon:VIDEO: Raw footage of protest against deportation of Laibar Singh at Vancouver airport (Runs 2:49)Deportation protesters snarl traffic at Vancouver airport

More than 1,000 people blocked traffic at Vancouver International Airport's departures terminal Monday morning, in an effort to stop the Canadian government from deporting paralyzed refugee claimant Laibar Singh from Vancouver to India.

More than 1,000 protesters at Vancouver International Airport's departure terminal attempted to block the deportation of Laibar Singh on Monday.(CBC)The federal government granted Laibar Singh a 60-day stay of the deportation order on Aug. 19, the day before he was expected to be deported. His deportation was later scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PT Monday at Vancouver airport.Singh came to Canada in 2003 on a forged passport, but suffered a massive stroke three years later that left him a quadriplegic and unable to care for himself.

He has since argued that he will die if he is deported to India because he won't be able to get proper medical treatment.

Singh initially sought refugee status in 2003 on the grounds that he would be persecuted by police in Punjab, where officials have accused him of links to separatist militants, but his refugee claim was denied that year.

His appeals to stay in Canada were turned down by immigration officials, who ruled Singh couldn't remain because he doesn't have adequate community ties.

Laibar Singh came to Canada in 2003 on a forged passport and suffered a massive stroke last year that left him a quadriplegic.(CBC)That's something his supporter, Harsha Walia, of the refugee rights group No One Is Illegal, said is outrageous, based on the support the community has already shown for him.

Walia said 40,000 people have signed a petition urging Ottawa to allow Singh to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds.

Singh has avoided deportation twice already.

He was first scheduled to be deported on July 8, 2007, but sought sanctuary at the Kalgidhar Darbar Sahib Society temple in Abbotsford instead.

The Canada Border Services Agency then arrested Singh on Aug. 13 at an Abbotsford, B.C., hospital, after he left the Sikh temple to seek medical attention.

6 comments:

Being a British Sikh, I personally think that this is disgusting and I am appauled that hundreds of other Sikhs have made a campaign to keep Singh in Canada.

Laibar Singh is completley in the wrong, he has no right to sneek into another country illegally and then claim to stay there due to his medical condition.

I agree in the fact that it is unfortunate to have suffered a stroke and that medical attention is alot better in Canada than India but that is something he the individual should have considered before entering the counrty illeagally.

I think it is a disgrace as so many of our family and friends came into Western countries and made a better living for themselves in a truthful manner. Why should it be any differnt for him? Again I understand he has gone through a terrible stroke and one to the extreme at that, however I still feel the act of entering a country illegally is not acceptable in any circumstances. He may have suffered this stroke in India had he not gone to Canada and the consequences would have been the same, what then? Why change fate?

"Singh initially sought refugee status in 2003 on the grounds that he would be persecuted by police in Punjab, where officials have accused him of links to separatist militants, but his refugee claim was denied that year."

If it was your father being persecuted by a unjust regime such as the Indian Government you'd be a tad more sympathetic.

So many times people rubbish refugee claims but unless you've been a refugee you don't have a right to speak from their point of view.

What concerns me the most as a Canadian, is Confused Khalsa thinks this is some sort of war.

[quote]the Army of Guru Gobind Singh Ji refused to allow our brother to be hijacked by Canada's Tory government. Now we have him. He will never be turned over to the Canadian government under any conditions now![quote]

[quote]PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE WON THIS BATTLE, BUT THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER. CANADA MAY - PROBABLY WILL - STILL TRY TO DEPORT THIS BROTHER. OUR JOB IS TO STOP THEM WHATEVER THAT TAKES!![quote]

Clearly you were at one time a refugee, who sought a better life here in Canada. Now you attack the very same Canada that gave you that better life.

My entire family, spaning back to the 1930's has served this great country that you now attack. Having just recently myself returned home from Afganistan, I can tell you sir; that it is peoplelike you who widen the cultural divide. Pitting Canadian vs Canadian.

Illegal immigration IS a crime in this country and a violation of the rule of law.

Mr Singh has been granted three separate hearings (hence a chance to make full argument) and has been turned down every time. Note that, even after he arrived, he continued to lie about his circumstances (including the truth, so it appears, about his medical condition).

Permitting him to flout CDN law is a spit in the face of every immigrant who, in respect of the rule of law, submits to the system and plays by the defined rules.

And to suggest that, in Canada, the crime of illegal immigration is a "capital offence" demonstrates a breath-taking ignorance of Canadian law: capital punishment was abolished in this country over forty years ago.

Attempts to substitute mob rule for the rule of law are a black mark against the reputation of the Sikh community, particularly in the eyes of Canadians outside of the community.

hi brother iam also sikh ,but myviews are different, why dont we make arrangements for his living in india ,his children,relatives all are there,put money in his account and he will get good medical and social care there,even if goverment allows him to stay then there will be demand for immigration of his family,this is not fair,ask his opinion too.Gurminder.s